Mincon profits up 24pc after buyout

Mincon profits up 24pc after buyout

Shares in drilling equipment maker Mincon closed up 4.78pc at €1.71 each yesterday after the company posted a 19pc jump in half-year revenue.

Profit before tax was up 24pc to more than €7.8m in the period. The results were boosted by the acquisition of peer business Driconeq.

CEO Joe Purcell said he thought the company would be able to shrug off the impact of Brexit and a potential trade war.

“The potential impacts from trade wars, tariffs and the UK leaving the EU are business uncertainties, but at present we are considering those impacts to be neutral,” he said.

“While we stay alert to the context of our businesses, products and markets, our planning is long-term, considered and based around long-term objectives.

“The team is confident across the businesses, the sector appears strong, lead times have increased for capital goods which should mean strength in the sectors that we serve, and orders remain robust in most of our markets. There are efficiencies to be found in the way we are doing business and that remains a key focus for the executive team,” he added.

A couple of years ago, the firm embarked on a capital investment programme, reducing its emphasis on acquisitions on the basis that it felt valuations in general were too high.

Mr Purcell said a large part of that programme had now been completed and that it was now looking at which locations are best for manufacturing going forward.

Colin Sheridan, an analyst at Davy, said Mincon’s operating profit had come in 11pc ahead of forecasts.